It was also a little late when Gu Yin came home, and Wu Qingyi came to pick him up like the husbands of other female guests.
But he was still afraid of scaring others, so he just parked the carriage at the corner of the street and sat there waiting by himself.
Gu Yin and a group of tricksters finally came out of the restaurant talking and laughing.
As soon as they saw him, Yuan Xiaoyuan and the others immediately stopped laughing, stood on their feet, and bowed to him.
Wu Qingyi nodded and jumped out of the carriage, "You all go back first."
Yuan Xiaoyuan and the others looked at him, then at Gu Yin, and quickly said, "No, the general and his wife will just take the carriage. We can just walk back, and it's not too far to the left or right."
In the end, it was Gu Yin who made a final decision: "You guys go back in the carriage, I just had a little drink and just walked away. Will you drive the car?"
Yuan Xiaoyuan said she would, and Wu Qingyi got out of the carriage and handed her the whip.
Yuan Xiaoyuan let the others into the carriage, she took the horse whip and sat on the carriage, and winked at Gu Yin, "It's dark and the road is slippery.
Gu Yin laughed and scolded her: "Drive your car, the road is slippery in the dark, and the car is overturned, and tomorrow you will have a bruised nose and a swollen face!"
Yuan Xiaoyuan responded and quickly drove away with a smile.
When they were all gone, Wu Qingyi changed the hand holding the lantern and stretched it out to her.
Gu Yin laughed, "Why do you really listen to that maid? I actually didn't drink much."
Having said that, she still put her hand in his palm.
With two hands clasped together, Wu Qingyi clenched her cold fingertips tightly, "But do you feel cold?"
"It's not cold," Gu Yin pointed to the brocade-trimmed cloak on her body with the other finger, and said, "This is what my mother brought me out of the warehouse. It's very windproof. It's you, aren't you cold?"
Wu Qingyi was only wearing a beautiful blue brocade strong suit, with a circle of black fur on the cuffs and neck.
Gu Yin was so cold for him.
He chuckled lightly, and clasped her hand tightly with his warm palm, "It's not cold."
After speaking, the two walked towards the direction of the British government.
Wu Qingyi walked half a step in front of her to shield him from the wind.
After walking for about half an hour, Gu Yin was sweating, her face was flushed, but her hands were still cold.
When she was about to see the door of her house, Gu Yin saw Wang Shi who was waiting at the door, and she was waving to Wang Shi, and she suddenly heard him ask softly, "What do you think of next year's Qixi Festival?"
Mindless, Gu Yinjiu got up and said in a dazed tone: "Qixi, it's a good day. If you launch a couple's package, it will definitely sell well. Why do you ask this all of a sudden?"
Wu Qingyi didn't answer, and Wang hurried over.
She still had this thicker cloak in her hand, and she covered Gu Yin with her head.
"It's going to snow this day, why are you still walking outside?" Mrs. Wang complained while saying, "You don't know that your daughter-in-law will have frostbite on her hands and feet in winter? Even if you walk, you don't know how to treat people back up?"
Wu Qingyi was speechless. He really didn't know.
"It's okay, mother." Gu Yin snuggled up to Wang's family, "I haven't given birth at all this winter! It seems to be getting better, and I won't have another baby in the future."
Wang pushed her into the mansion, "Hot water and ginger tea have been prepared for you, drink a bowl before taking a bath."
Whether it was his own son, Mrs Wang still turned to Wu Qing and said, "You too, wear so little, drink a bowl together and then go to sleep."
When they got to the backyard, the lights in the main yard were out, and Wu Zhong and the two children fell asleep.
The hot ginger soup was brought to her hand, Gu Yin sipped the hot air and sipped, and the hot sweat on her body also came out.
After Wang shi checked her hands, she asked someone to bring a pot of hot water and take off Gu Yin's boots.
"Thank you mom!" Gu Yingang hadn't felt anything yet, but suddenly he was getting drunk, and his body was so soft that he couldn't exert any strength.
Mrs. Wang took off her shoes and put the soles of her feet on her hands to check before soaking her feet in hot water.
Wu Qingyi was sitting next to him drinking ginger soup, and when he saw the small soles of feet like white jade, his ears immediately became hot, he quickly turned his eyes away, and sat sideways.
When Wang Shi saw him, he laughed and scolded him, "My daughter-in-law, why are you ashamed of this dead child!"
Wu Qingyi choked and coughed.
Gu Yin soaked her feet and sighed comfortably. She felt dizzy, as if she had just returned to the winter when she set up a stall at the dock, leaning back on her chair and muttering: "The snow should stop tomorrow, I I have to find a part-time job, otherwise there will definitely be insufficient training in Wu'an for the beginning of the year."
Hearing this, Mrs. Wang was both amused and sad. She lowered her voice and coaxed: "Silly girl, our family has stopped setting up stalls for a long time!"
Gu Yin rubbed her eyes and said angrily, "Yes, our family has opened a store. We have a store in our family. Well, selling Mala Tang during the Chinese New Year makes a lot of money..."
As she spoke, she fell asleep.
"This is really too much drinking, and it's still in Hanshan Town." Wang shi took out her hot feet and wiped them, then took the hot water and walked out, while murmuring to Wu Qingyi: "Also What are you doing stupidly? Take your daughter-in-law to bed."
Wu Qingyi put the bowl away, and without much effort, he picked up Gu Yin horizontally.
Gu Yin woke up and saw that he didn't struggle, but put his hand around his neck, and obediently rested his head on his shoulder.
Their faces were so close, their breaths were entwined.
Going around the screen and entering the inner room, he walked very steadily and very slowly after a few steps.
When he got to the bed, Wu Qingyi bent down and put her down gently.
Gu Yin lay on the bed, and when she released her hand from his neck, it went to his face and took off his mask like a prank.
She opened her eyes and giggled.
Wu Qingyi had never seen her childish side, so she bent her lips and whispered, "Don't make trouble, go to sleep soon."
Saying that, he reached out to get his mask, but Gu Yin was one step ahead of him, hiding the mask under her waist, "No."
Wu Qingyi laughed again, "If you don't give it to me, you won't give it to me, but why do you sleep under your body, don't you panic?"
Gu Yin frowned and said okay, "It's a little awkward."
She took out the mask again, but still refused to give it to him, complaining, "Why do you keep wearing this mask, it doesn't look good at all."
"You don't like me wearing it?"
"do not like."
She sat up again, holding his face in her hands, and said strangely: "Your face is not ugly, why do you hide it?"
Her eyes were misty and unfocused.
Wu Qingyi lowered his eyes unnaturally, touched the conspicuous red scar on his face, and asked her, "Isn't this ugly?"
Gu Yin tried her best to open and narrow her eyes, and finally she could see his fingers clearly, as well as the scar that grew from her thumb.
"It's not ugly." Then she asked again: "You don't think this is ugly, so you wear it all the time, right?"
Wu Qingyi didn't respond, and after a while, he said, "Okay, I won't wear it if you don't like it."
"No." Gu Yin said seriously, "I have to make your scar look good."
Wu Qingyi's physique was such that even the old medical fairy couldn't remove his scars.
He thought that she was drunk and confused, but watched her stand up staggeringly, walked to the edge of the makeup bun, and waved to him.
He was afraid that she would fall on him, so he hurriedly followed.
Gu Yin pressed him down on the round stool in front of the dresser and sat down, and found a very thin soft pen in the small drawer.
The soft pen was dipped in mouth grease, the color of which was exactly the same as the scar on his face.
"Don't move." Gu Yin's fingertips stroked his cheek, and the other hand drew a pen on his face.
She stared intently at the place where she wrote the pen, and the hot air she exhaled sprayed onto the side of his face.
Coupled with the soft tip of the pen wandering on his face, Wu Qing was confused and clenched his fists to force himself not to move.
"Okay!" After a while, Gu Yin stopped writing, "Look at it."
Wu Qingyi raised her eyes to look at the round mirror, only to find that her scar was drawn into a flower map under her hand—the scar was a red tree trunk, and she also painted a few small flowers to embellish it. If it weren't for his face, it would be a decal decoration.
"It's so beautiful." Gu Yin looked at it with satisfaction, she didn't forget to straighten his face, looked him in the eyes, and told him, "Don't wipe it."
Wu Qingyi made an inaudible "um".
After getting the answer she wanted, Gu Yin crawled back onto the bed softly.
Wu Qingyi stood in front of the bed for a long time, and then said softly: "I think the Qixi Festival is still far away, what do you think?"
The only answer to him was Gu Yin's even breathing.
Wang came back after pouring the water, but did not enter the inner room.
It is rare for her son and daughter-in-law to get along alone, but she is still very discerning.
Just seeing that his son had been in for almost a quarter of an hour, Wang was a little worried.
Although they are husband and wife, but they have not married before, it is not good to take advantage of the danger when everyone is drunk!
Wang shi naturally believed the eldest son's behavior, so although she was worried, she didn't rush in in a hurry, and only coughed twice outside.
As soon as he coughed for the second time, Wu Qingyi covered his face and came out.
"What are you doing in there, staying for so long?"
"I didn't do anything." Wu Qingyi walked quickly with her head lowered, "It's getting late, mother should rest early."
Then he fled to the front yard.
Wang went to the inner room, Gu Yin was lying on the bed neatly dressed, the quilt was covered, and there was a satisfied smile on her face.
Thinking back to the shy little daughter-in-law of the eldest son just now, Wang always felt that something was wrong.
Why do these two seem to have fallen apart
Wu Qingyi walked out of the backyard quickly, and when the cold wind blew, the temperature on his face dropped.
In the study in the front yard, his little servant had fallen asleep waiting.
Wu Qingyi didn't call him, and went to the clean room to wash himself.
When he entered the house with a body of water vapor, the servant sitting on the low stool rubbed his eyes and woke up.
"I'll wash the general's face with water." The boy said, and was about to light the lamp.
"No!" Wu Qingyi immediately shouted to stop, and then explained: "I have washed."
"The general always likes to use cold water to wash his face, and hot water makes his face feel more comfortable!" The little boy who consciously was lazy and was caught rushing to express.
"I really don't need it." Wu Qingyi held him down, "I really don't need it, I haven't used it recently."
The little servant didn't say any more, he just thought the most strange thing in his heart - you don't need it, why don't you use it recently, is your general's face inlaid with gold? Can't wash your face yet
…
Gu Yin slept until it was bright and woke up the next day.
After waking up, her temples were aching, she rubbed the acupoints and got up, only to find that she was still holding a mask in the other hand.
A silver mask belonging to Wu Qingyi.
She recalled carefully, but her memory was only when Wang helped her slippers to soak her feet after returning home.
She got up in the same room, and Mrs. Wang came in and said with a smile, "The most diligent person in our family has become a big slacker today! Wu An and Xiao Ye both came to see you in the morning, and you didn't wake up at all. , How much did you drink?"
Gu Yin smiled embarrassedly, "I really didn't drink a lot yesterday, but I tasted a little of everything. Maybe I drank it together, so I got drunk later."
As she spoke, Gu Yin handed over the mask to Wang Shi again, "Qingyi's mask has fallen on my side, mother help me give it to him."
Wang Shi said what to pay, "Today is the day of the court, he left the house before dawn. When he comes back at night, you can give it to him yourself."
Speaking of which, Mrs. Wang asked someone to bring over the hangover soup and let her drink it before taking a shower.
By the time Gu Yin finished bathing, half of the morning had passed.
Mrs. Wang said that she had helped Gu Yin to inform the shopkeeper Zhou. Gu Yin thought that Mrs. Wen Er and the others drank more than herself, so they should not be over in the morning, so she simply gave herself a half-day leave.
Later, Mrs. Wang asked someone to re-prepare a morning meal, and Gu Yin gritted beside Mr. Wang.
Wang Shi hadn't been so dependent on her for a long time. Seeing her pinching her brows from time to time, she asked the maid to stand behind her and massage her, while she helped Gu Yin with snacks and porridge.
Wu Zhong watched from the side, and said with both taste and humor: "Da Ya is such an adult, old lady, you wish you could feed her!"
The daughter-in-law just ate some wine and had some headaches, but he was half-hearted! Never enjoyed this kind of treatment.
Wang said, "I'm happy, can you handle it?"
Gu Yin also nodded, "I'm also happy to let my mother feed her."
Then she pointed to the dim sum on the table, opened her mouth, and Wang actually fed the dim sum into her mouth.
After feeding her, Mrs Wang changed her pair of chopsticks again, took a snack and brought it to Wu Zhong's mouth, and said, "Come on, don't you want me to feed it?"
"When did I say that?" Old Wu Zhong blushed, but he still took Wang's hand and finished eating a snack.
After using the morning meal, Gu Yin asked about the situation at home.
In the past, she had been busy with the opening of the third floor, and she really didn't care about the family's affairs. So it's no wonder that some people speculate that their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are incompatible.
"I have me at home, it's nothing. Recently, the New Year's goods have been purchased, and the new New Year's clothes for you are almost ready." Wang said and frowned.
Gu Yin knew there was something going on when she saw her like this, so she went: "Don't lie to me, mother, I'm all done over there, let's discuss something if we have something to do."
Wang Shi said: "Isn't there a blind old woman in the past, thinking that we were in conflict, pulled out a long list of people, and let me drive out in one breath. But after going to them, our family is now There are still 70 or 80 servants... I have been busy with this recently, and I have asked some people who I want to go out and reunite with their families, and sent away a dozen people. It is not that there are still 60 or 70 people left."
There are only so many people in the family, and most of them have their own affairs to be busy with. They are not the ones who are idle in the mansion. Moreover, Wu Zhong and Wu Qingyi also have a group of their own confidants. next person.
Especially in the past, there were many female relatives in the palace, and there were the most maids in the palace. Among the sixty or seventy people, there are thirty or forty maids alone.
Wu Zhong and Wu Qingyi did not need maids to serve, so these people could only serve Gu Yin and Wang.
If this is spread evenly, their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law will have to use twenty maids each.
"Oh, they are all pitiful people." Mrs. Wang said softly, "I have already asked. These girls have their own difficulties, and they are all sold by their families. The original master of the palace bought them from Renyazi. He only does the work of serving people, and he has no other strengths, and everyone is very delicate, if this is released, there may be something wrong."
This is really difficult.
As they were talking, there were a lot of footsteps outside.
The Wang family asked people what was going on, and only then did they know that it was the maids who heard that Gu Yin was not feeling well and needed someone to serve, so they all volunteered to come.
"It's just that you meet them," Wang Shi said, "you can find a way out for them when you meet people."
Gu Yin nodded, and the Wang family let everyone in.
Because the New Year is coming, the maids have already put on the new clothes bought by Wang Shirang.
Everyone wore silver red and aqua blue cotton jackets according to their previous grades in the palace.
Not to mention, all of them are good-looking and beautiful, and some of the big maids are even more beautiful, and they are not inferior to Yuan Xiaoyuan and the others who came out of the palace.
Gu Yin first ordered a few big maids to come forward and ask them if they have any skills.
They were also raised like half-masters, and they all dabble in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and performed for Gu Yin one by one.
Gu Yin thought about it and said: "This is good, we still lack a few people on the third floor. Although you are not as talented as the tricksters in the palace, compared with ordinary people, you are superior. Just follow me. If you go to work there, you won’t be considered slaves in the future, and you will be paid back to you. The wages will be calculated first. We will also give you performance appraisals later.”
A few big maids are so happy, why do they want to be slaves and maids all their lives
They were also moved when they heard that the Wang family was willing to let people go out of the house and return a sum of money to settle down.
It's just that they don't have any other skills to make a living except for talents that are beyond ordinary people.
If they are helpless outside, they are afraid that after going out, their appearance and talent will become the source of disaster.
They are blessed.
Two big maids came out at the back. The two of them looked a little different and looked a little dull, but they also had other abilities.
They used to be responsible for showing their masters the private treasury and small accounts, and they were clear about the women's food and clothing expenses.
Gu Yin ordered them to be the account room on the third floor. Now the account of Shiweitian is in charge of the storekeeper Zhou, but he can handle the account on the first and second floors by himself. Now that a third floor is added, he is naturally a little hard .
Moreover, what the third floor sells is not food, but a sense of atmosphere, so many women's things are added.
These shopkeepers Zhou are naturally countless.
Gu Yin was going to let them look at the accounts on the third floor. Of course, she didn't have a deep relationship with these two people, and it was impossible to trust them as much as she trusted shopkeeper Zhou, so let them supervise each other first, and she would also check the accounts frequently.
Arrange these with skills, and the rest are of course unskilled.
Gu Yin looked at them also in trouble.
Not knowing who started first, the rest of the maids knelt down.
"The slaves know the acupuncture points and are very good at massage."
"The slave can turn her head with oil, and she can raise the lady's hair very well."
"The slaves will pinch their feet!"
"The slaves will... flush the toilet."
The maids searched and thought about their strengths, but in the past few years, they have been doing errands to serve others, and they are not particularly outstanding.
Gu Yin asked them all to get up and said, "I know what you said, let me think about it."
After seeing them off, Gu Yin took a few maids to her restaurant in the afternoon.
Yuan Xiaoyuan and others have already performed, and Mrs. Wen Er and the others have all arrived one after another.
Just like Gu Yin, everyone's face was full of tiredness after a hangover.
When we met, everyone laughed.
Mrs. Wen Er shook her head and said, "I knew I had a night off with you last night. I didn't feel so good when I left, and I almost vomited on the carriage when I bumped the carriage."
"Me too, I almost caught a cold."
"There are many wing rooms in the backyard of my wife, who may live there? You don't have to make it too good, just have a bed."
The friend next to her joked: "You can't let your maid serve you when you sleep. Can you sleep on your own when you stay outside?"
The woman who spoke smiled and patted her, "Then can't I bring my maid out?"
Everyone was gossiping and joking, but Gu Yin came up with an idea and said, "The wing room has been repaired, but it is not open yet. The ladies will allow me a few days, and then I will definitely give you a place to stay."
Later, Gu Yin introduced the big maids she brought to everyone. I heard that they can play chess.
A few women had itchy hands, so I talked to them on the spot.
Gu Yin asked for a bowl of hangover soup for each of them, and then went to contact the workers who had used it not long ago.
In the afternoon, Shiweitian began to build walls in the middle of the spacious backyard. Several rows of houses that were originally connected to each other were separated into two courtyards.
One is naturally a place for employees to rest, and the other half has been repaired and has not lived in, so it becomes another place to entertain guests.
Gu Yin arranged it herself, and then found someone else to customize some things.
But on the tenth day, Gu Yin fiddled with it.
In the past ten days, the light food bar on the third floor has not let her bother to promote it, and there have been more and more female customers.
It's rare to find such a place suitable for women's gatherings and entertainment. Whether it's the layout, the food, or the side, it's all very pleasing. Why don't you introduce yourself to handkerchiefs
Therefore, although only 20 or 30 people, including Mrs. Wen Er, came on the opening day, with their spontaneous publicity, within a few days, 20 or 30 people radiated out to hundreds of people.
The occupancy rate on the third floor quickly reached 70-80%.
As soon as the guest room was ready, Gu Yin invited everyone to try it out.
Mrs. Wen Er and others naturally responded.
When everyone came downstairs, they didn't have to leave the restaurant. There was a small door at the back of the stairs. There was a maid next to the small door. If they encountered a male guest, they would block people.
This door is newly opened, and after half an hour, it leads directly to the newly opened backyard.
The light food bar on the third floor is already quiet, but after all, there are many male customers on the first and second floors, and it is not lively to call friends and friends, and you can always hear some upstairs.
The backyard is absolutely serene.
Entering the yard, different signboards are placed in front of the entrances of several houses. The signs have inscriptions such as hair wash, foot bath, body massage, etc. Of course, there are some rooms next to them that can be directly occupied, and are written as guest rooms.
Each wing is not big, just enough to accommodate two or three people. Gu Yin will introduce it to everyone, so that everyone can choose to be with their closest friends, or they can have a room by themselves. After all, whether it is to remove hair, expose feet, or lie down for massage, it is still a very private thing in this era.
Since these people can be the first customers of the light food bar, they are naturally more open-minded than ordinary women, so they quickly entered the house in twos and threes according to the items they can accept.
Mrs. Wen Er smiled and pulled Gu Yin, "We share a room."
The room that Gu Yin and Mrs. Wen Er entered happened to be Mu Fa's.
The first time she saw this kind of leather chair for people to lie down on, she went up for a while and then lay down.
The two were lying side by side, and the maid came up to cut their hair lightly.
After the hair was removed, the maid put the ends of their hair into a wooden bucket, scooped out warm water with a wooden spoon, and shampooed them gently, pressing the acupuncture points on their heads while washing.
The maids are all the maids of the original palace. Those who can serve in front of the master are either gifted or trained without knowing how many boards they have endured. Their service is naturally to ordinary small officials or the female relatives of wealthy merchants. Comfort like never before.
Mrs. Wen Er has been complimenting the maid for her good craftsmanship, and she fell into a deep sleep listening to the sound of running water without complimenting her for a long time.
After one wash, the maid who combed the hair came in to help comb the bun, and also adjusted the extra-smelling hair oil to make every strand of hair smooth and smooth.
Seeing that Mrs. Wen Er had not woken up yet, Gu Yin went out lightly. After waiting for a while, almost no one came out. Then she called the maid to ask questions. Everyone's situation was similar to that of Mrs. Wen Er.
Mrs. Wen Er and others finally woke up after a moment or two of rest. After waking up, they are not in a hurry to leave, they have to enjoy other things.
After enjoying the massage from head to toe, and it's getting late, then I'll just go up to the third floor to eat dinner, drink fruit brew, watch performances and play cards...
They didn't want to go until the curfew time, so they went downstairs and did it again!
Anyway, there is a wing room, and can live in it.
…
Mr. Wen Er has recently become accustomed to his wife playing outside every day until it gets dark before coming back.
This day is even better, let the servants come back and spread the word, saying that they will live in Shiweitian!
Of course, Mrs. Wen Er is not the only example of such a person, so that when Wu Qingyi went to court for the last time a year ago, several officials looked at him strangely.